Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital device, and more particularly, to a digital device and driver monitoring method thereof. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for detecting a state of the driver.
Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, the needs for a technology of monitoring a state of a driver by installing a camera in a vehicle are increasingly rising. A technology of monitoring a driver is the technology of obtaining various kinds of driver information and the like using a parallax between a camera and an infrared illumination disposed on both sides of the driver, respectively.
In this instance, the infrared illumination is used in general. The reason for this is to prevent the driver from recognizing a presence of an illumination. However, when using the infrared illumination and a driver approaches the infrared illumination, if a distance between driver's eyes and the infrared illumination is too small, the driver's eyes may be damaged.
In order to prevent such a problem, if the driver approaches within a predetermined distance, the infrared illumination is turned off using additional parts including a distance sensor and the like. However, this raises the overall cost of materials. Moreover, when employing the above technology, an object other than the driver approaches the infrared illumination, since it is recognized that the driver is approaching, the infrared illumination is turned off. Hence, such a technology raises an error rate of driver recognition. Thus, since additional auxiliary methods are further required, it becomes another factor of the material cost increase.